We Care About You Leo
by LivingForEveryMoment777
Summary: Leo's been working himself to death on the Argo II, desperate to get his friends safely to New Rome. But he's destroying himself in the process. Sometimes, all we need is a loving sister to be there for you. Maybe she can show Leo that he's welcome to have a family. And use some much loved words in the process...
Leo was toiling in the forge. He hadn't left his spot in over a week and he was pretty sure that grass was growing on him. For one week and five days he hadn't stopped working on the Argo II except to do his head councillor duties and then he'd be right back on the Argo II. No matter how many demigods had come to ask him to leave he couldn't leave his post. He was turning into his father, caring more about machines than 'organic lifeforms' and not even communicating. Jason and Piper most of all missed the happy hispanic elf who seemed to brighten up everything. The smallest member of the Hephaestus cabin, Harley seemed to miss his new idol (Yes idol because, lets face it, Leo was the coolest!) the most. Soon the cabin decided that enough was enough.

BANG BANG BANG! Leo pounded on the large piece of celestial bronze. He had been working on the hull during the day and the machinery at night to allow his cabin mates to rest while he toiled away.

Leo had been working for two weeks straight without sleeping. He took five minutes off per day to drink some water. He was severely malnourished and unbelievably stressed. He felt as though the whole camp was depending on him and he didn't want to let them down. His cabin mates only worked for about eight hours a day but he was working around the clock. The last time he'd slept properly was five months ago when he'd just come back from the quest. He wiped his brow and carried on hammering.

The machinery was mostly finished, he just had to install Festus as the figurehead and remake the circuit disk. He was just waiting for the iron to cool down a little before heating it up and hammering it again, it gave a smoother finish, when he saw the hammer being taken out of his hands. He looked in surprise and saw Nyssa holding it. "Oh hey Nee-Nee, ya' need any help?" Leo asked casually, trying to hide the fact that he was a dead man walking with exhaustion. Nyssa frowned even more, if that was possible and got straight to the point. "Leo, you're practically dead on your feet! You need to get some rest! You've not slept in two weeks and beside from a few sips of water and some bites of food you've not eaten anything. Now we know how hard you're working on this and how eager you are to make it but you won't be helping anyone if you collapse from exhaustion." She genuinely sounded worried Leo thought, but she shouldn't. It must have been the delirium. Leo was being careful to not get too attached to anyone. It would only hurt more when he left. Yes he said _when_ he left. He didn't want to become attached or it would hurt more. Heck he had been surprised that they hadn't cast him out already. But he wanted to go out on his own terms. He didn't want to be known as 'the freak who we threw out in a sack.' He snapped back to reality and heard Nyssa talking to him about the Argo II and how he needs to take a break and so forth. "Nyssa, look I appreciate you coming but seriously, this is the only way to get Jason, Annabeth and Piper to New Rome. And if I don't finish it well…" Leo gulped. "I can't let them down."

Nyssa seemed confused for a moment before it dawned on her. Sitting down next to him on the work bench and pulling him into an embrace. When Leo stiffened and tried to wriggle out of it Nyssa just held him tighter. It was only when he gave up and leaned into the hug that she let him go. She looked at him with a rare soft glance and gently brushed some of his hair behind his ear. She then started talking.

"Now, why don't you tell me why you're so afraid of being in a family."

It was funny how those words released a flood of emotions. Leo instantly began sobbing. and buried his head in Nyssa's shoulder. Word by word he choked out everything that had happened to the people he got close to. Either he hurt them or they hurt him. He had learnt the hard way that people didn't care about others, they only had some sort of big ulterior motive. Everyone hurt him and didn't want him in the end. He told her about his mothers murder and his aunts rejection and his abusive foster homes. He even told her about Tia Callida and her attempts to kill him repeatedly.

Nyssa felt her eye's tearing up at the small latino boys sad past. She had expected him to have been with a rich and happy upbringing, not full of blame and hurt. He had believed for about ten years that he was responsible for his mum's death. She held Leo in front of her and saw that he flinched like he was about to be hit. Suddenly she felt like an idiot, of course he expected to be punished, he'd spent most of his life on the run for pete's sake. And she knew that the few foster home that took him weren't exactly child friendly.

"Leo, do you think that I'll get hurt because of you?" She asked, afraid of the answer. It wasn't a shock when Leo nodded his head but it still hurt. She tenderly strokes his cheek like a mother. She pulls him in again and puts her head on his shoulder. She starts talking softly.

"Leo, a demigods life is dangerous. We are constantly on the run, about to be killed and there's a war on the horizon every Tuesday. We seem to spend most of our time being killed and to be honest, we wouldn't have it any other way. Because in the midst of all that we have special people worth fighting for and they are the only thing that keep us going. You are the most important and valuable people I know Leo. You are the fire in the hearth. You are hope. And if you think that Jason and Piper will think any less of you for not finishing the Arg-"

At this point Leo got up and started pacing worriedly. He started to pull at his hair and fiddle with his tool belt even more frantically than before.

"That's just it though!" I can't let them down and I can't hurt them. They have to much to live for and I can't mess this up for them! I-I-I" Leo sank into a ball next to the forge and tried to block out his thoughts. Nyssa crouched down next to him, not caring that she got burnt by the hot forge.

"I don't want to hurt you too…"

That voice was what did it. The feeble brokenness and weakness that for the first time illuminated how shattered Leo actually was. Physically he was weak and broken but strength could be gained and he could heal his body easily. Mentally though. That was a whole different story. Leo had seen things that nobody should have seen. He had seen humanity at it's worst and walked through it with his head held high. He had been broken and shattered into the tiniest of pieces. Despite this horrible revolution Nyssa smiled. Fixing what was shattered was her speciality.

"Leo you didn't hurt anyone. People around you didn't suffer because of you. You were the light of everyones life. There were all those children in your foster homes that you protected and all those kids you fed. You are the kindest person I know. You are my saviour."

"But I'm worthless."

Nyssa's smile dropped. Leo was convinced that he was a terrible human (Demigod, half-blood, whatever!) and she didn't know how to fix it. She was good with machines, not people! But she couldn't leave him so it was with careful though that she chose her words.

"Leo the world is like a machine. There are cogs to keep it working and they all need to work _together_ to make something happen. And do you know one thing about machines? They never have a spare part. Every single piece has a role. Sure things break and go haywire but all-in-all it works because there are all of those small important pieces to keep it going. But if there is a lone cog on it's own, isolated, scared, and not sure if it can make a difference, then everything will malfunction because there is a piece meeting and there is a gap that can't be filled. But when the cog is back in, it will cause the machine to work better than ever."

Nyssa wasn't sure if she'd helped, or made it worse but when she saw his eyes she knew that he'd taken the words to heart. She smiled and moved so she could pick Leo up. Despite all his kicking and protesting that it was demeaning and he could manage it on his own she set him down and sat down next to him, humming an ancient lullaby to send him to sleep.

When the rest of the cabin came back in a hour they found a Leo, looking small and innocent curled up against an asleep Nyssa who had a smile on her face.

But Leo took those words to heart and a few months later when he was in a cave-in with Hazel and she had a familiar hopelessness in her eyes that he used to see in the mirror he took a deep breath and began speaking.

 _"_ _The world is like a machine…"_


End file.
